


Fated Meeting that Blossoms

by Aliasprick



Series: When Ash is 25 [1]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-15
Updated: 2020-04-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:22:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23668312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aliasprick/pseuds/Aliasprick
Summary: At twenty five, Ash realized that all this time he was already in love
Relationships: Gou/Satoshi | Ash Ketchum
Series: When Ash is 25 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1733797
Comments: 6
Kudos: 83
Collections: Late Start





	Fated Meeting that Blossoms

Strong wind blew in his face, carrying the scent of flowers in the field they were surrounded in. Having emerged as the champion of the world, he realized the strength he had built until today didn't just come from himself.

In all of these, there was always someone cheering him on, never had missed a single of his battle. Had cried with him when he lost and had smiled with him when he emerged victorious.

From the foot of the hill, Ash suddenly realized that he had never felt a greater attraction than the ones he was having right at this very moment.

Except that when he approached the small party, the first thing that came out from his crush was, "Did you find anything, asshole?"

"What do you mean did I find anything?" Ash asked back.

"Weren't you looking for a sample of magikarp's scale?"

"You're right, Gou. I forgot what I was doing down there near the lake".

"Hey, you're okay?"

"Yeah…" Ash thought, except that I had come to a sudden realization and was distracted because of it.

"Come to think of it, where's Cinderace?"

"Behind that tree, sitting", and probably watching from afar while giving Ash a menacing look that left him feeling uncomfortable.

"So you're going after the scale?"

"Maybe after eating", his stomach decided to rumble and Gou chuckled cutely. Labelling your male comrade like that… was a pretty hard blow to his own mind.

Gou passed him a bag of sandwich, Ash favourite kind that he bought on their way there. Ash was so screwed with nowhere else to go, knowing that he had fallen deeper into the rabbit hole.

"You remembered to get which kind I like", he said.

Gou's face grew redder than the apple he was eating. "W-well, it's quite hard to miss if you eat it everytime we pass through here!"

"I hardly remember what you always picked up for yourself. Might as well pay a little bit more attention".

"Huh?!! What good do you get from remembering what I like to buy?"

"Well, it's only fair since you remembered mine", Ash said and sneakily captured a picture of Gou eating his apple.

"H-Hey!!! What's that for?"

"It's a secret", the other replied easily, one of his most frequently used answer sets when he was hiding something. Even if he didn't explain it, Gou will forget about his antics soon and would brush it off as just his way of taking revenge. Little that he knew Ash had accumulated a directory filled with just Gou's memories over the years.

He had never thought he would meet the one on top of a Lugia. Only to realize it today after years of collecting the memories that are precious to him.

"Hey, there's something I'd like to ask. Are you going out with anyone right now?" he asked Gou who spewed out his food when he heard the question.

"W-Why are you asking?"

"Just curious you know. Since we've been in the field for years but I have yet to see you stick around with anyone".

"What do you mean I haven't?"

"So you stuck around for somebody?" somehow that ticked Ash off a little.

"I've dated a few girls but the relationships didn't last that long but I've only had one crush I'm emotionally invested in. But I don't know if my crush feels the same way".

"Your crush is lucky".

"No, I think my crush is totally a loser. I don't know… Maybe a doofus and oblivious to the core. I'm an unlucky bastard for liking someone like that".

"Tell me more about this crush of yours".

"No, I don't want to". Gou refused.

"Come on. We're best buddies and buddies share secrets".

Gou gave it a long thought before sighing in defeat. "Alright… My crush… He has raven hair".

"He?"

Gou went wide eyed from the slip of his tongue and turned away. "You got a problem with that?"

"No. Not at all… I'm just shocked that you're open to the idea of dating a guy".

"Is it that weird?"

"It's not weird but… I'm happy for you".

"For me? Eh?"

"I'm just…. I'm unhappy with myself eventhough I'm happy for you". He lied down on his back and covered his face with his cap to block the sun. It helps to hide his face from Gou as well. If he were to see Ash at this moment, he would see jealousy written all over his face.

"Ehh… That's weird, Ash. Why would you be unhappy with yourself?".

Ash just kept his silence and even after that, he avoided to glance directly at Gou. He felt a pang he only felt when rejected by a Pokemon except this time, this feeling wasn't for a pokemon but for a human.

For the first time, Ash experienced attraction and heartbreak in one single day.

\----

Gou noticed the changes in Ash after they had had the conversation. He went to sleep earlier than Gou and woke up surprisingly earlier than him. Even Pikachu was surprised at this since they both knew how difficult it was to wake him.

Ash was always ready before him and was always missing during breakfast. He'd always have Mr. Mime packed his lunch before they both went out for work. For some reason, losing the little routines they often did left him feeling disappointed and made him missed their relationship even more.

This led to him spilling it all out to Koharu one evening at a cafe they both frequented regularly. "I don't know why is he acting like this", he lamented.

"Did he stop talking to you?" she asked, turning the spoon to let the steam dissipate.

"No. He acted normal when we were outside doing field work and stuffs but when it's like the daily routine, you know like waking up together and stuffs, things that I thought I knew, he changed".

"I see", Koharu nodded in understanding. "When did it start?"

"I don't know", Gou grumbled, "but maybe during that time I accidentally spoke about my crush being a guy".

Koharu gasped. "You came out to him?"

"My tongue slipped cause he keeps bugging me about it".

"Did… Did he say anything odd? Or act uncomfortable around you after that?"

"... He told me he's happy for me but unhappy about himself".

"That's it!" Koharu let go of the spoon and pointed at Gou's nose. Half of her body was hovered over the table in her giggly excitement.

"What's it?" Gou looked at her utterly confused.

"Teehee, it's woman's intuition but you need to look deeper into that".

"I don't get you".

"You need to ask him again why he is unhappy about it? If he acts normal around you during the day, then that means it's not because he hates you for being gay".

"I'm bisexual, you moron. I've dated a few girls before I came to this conclusion about my man crush".

"Oh, save the technical stuffs. Only hearts matter when you like someone. Anyway, you should really confront him about it. At least, you'll get your answer and maybe move from there".

\----

Ash looked up at the tree filled with berries during their trip to learn about wild pokemon's nutritions. He held out one hand to pluck the berries closest to him.

While he was trying hard to fill his attention with just the berries, he saw Gou emerged from the river with his seal, his hair and skin drenched by the water. Under the glistening sun, the other glowed and Ash's heart skipped a bit.

"Oh, man. This is way too deep". The pain just constricted his heart every time he remembered that moment on the field.

\----

It was at that exact moment Gou caught the sadness on Ash's face.

He felt a slight pang in his stomach and he didn't know what to do.

\----

Pikachu knew his master wasn't sleeping. Lately, in the last week, the sleeping time had been reduced to the point Ash had been spotting eye bags. Something had kept him awake all night and stealing his sleep. 

Maybe he would sometimes catch an hour or two sleep but most of the time he would just stare at the wall beside him. Meanwhile, Pikachu would usually leave him alone when he was in this kind of mood but this time, it won't do for him to ignore any longer seeing how Ash just ditched resting like it wasn't essential.

"Pikachu", the yellow mouse scolded.

"He said you should take care of yourself better", Meowth helped to translate Pikachu's nagging.

"Pikapipi". "What's wrong? Tell me about it".

"I'm happy that you're concerned about me but why Meowth?"

"Pikapipi. Pikachu". "This is not about me. We're talking about you".

"I'm fine. Honest. Thanks for worrying, Pikachu".

"Pika… PIKAAA!!!" Pikachu electrocuted Ash in rage. Here he was worrying about him and all he got to say was thanking him for worrying? This worthless human had belittled the companion who had walked through life and death adventures with him and even cried for him.

"You have some nerve, that's what Pikachu said".

Ash groaned and sat back on the bench.

"Seriously man, you need to share your problem with him. If it's not that serious, you wouldn't look this tired", Meowth gave him an advise .

"Would you mind if you leave me and Pikachu alone?"

"Piika piiiika", Pikachu argued against it.

"He said he needed me to convey his message to you. So he asked me to stay".

"Alright. But please keep this to yourself, Meowth", Ash deadpanned.

Ash then began to open up little by little of his worries. It began with the field trip and when he realised about his inappropriate feelings for his best human friend.

Then he went on about how everyday, looking at the other just burnt a little piece of his soul. Like he was walking but not living as long as he could only watch the other from far away.

Pikachu gawked and Meowth too.

"Pikapiii…" "Yeah I thought he was asexual too all this while".

"Piii" "Yeah… Who knew right?"

"Pii… Pika… Pikachu pii piii". "Listen, buddy. Here is a question for you".

"Pii… Pikaaaaa… Pii piii". "Why don't you tell him about your feelings?"

"Pii pii pikapi". "Maybe he'll reciprocate".

"Pika pikapika". "Though I have to put up with Cinderace but that doesn't matter".

"Pikapii pii". "At least you'll feel better after letting it all out".

"You think so?" Ash asked.

"Yeah. I mean you have one chance. Just bring him out to the sea and shout your confession out loud".

Ash stood up. "You're right. Why didn't I think of this?" And just like that, he disappeared from view.

"Pikaaaaa???" "I dunno? But can't he be the least romantic? I was just joking when I said that!"

Meowth and Pikachu chased after his shadow in a quick run.

\-----

Gou had practiced countless of times in front of the mirror. He pinched his cheeks, slapped it twice and looked at himself with the most focused mind he could gather.

"Ash, why did you say you were unhappy about yourself?" he said with his hands on his hip.

Then he groaned again. "I just looked like an angry mother. How can I do this right?"

By his side, cinderace scoffed at her dopey master.

"Well, if you're good at this, let me know how you would ask a person you like".

The rabbit accepted the challenge and came up closer to Gou. Then she slammed both of her arms on the wall, trapping Gou in the middle. "Cinderace", the pokemon whispered huskily. Red cheeks bloomed on Gou's face.

"Arghhh, this is so frustrating!" admitting his defeat, he shoved cinderace aside to free himself from the embarrassing position he was in.

"I get it! You're popular. Don't brush my failure on me!"

Just when he was about to walk out of the room, Ash waltzed into the room all energized.

"Wh-what's going on, Ash?"

"I've asked professor and we're going to the seaside tomorrow".

"Where are we headed?"

"To Shamouti island. There's a special festival there tomorrow and I think you're going to like it".

"Shamouti island… I wonder what kind of festival would it be?"

"You'll see".

Gou thought to himself, that this is a festival that he was going to remember for years to come.

\----

The speed boat reached the island in less than two hours. When they got down the boat, Gou managed to catch a wandering jiggly puff with an excellent throw and upon inspection, Ash so dreaded the fact that it was the same jigglypuff that created hell for him when he first set out on the journey to become a Pokemon master.

However, it took a liking of Gou and stayed out of trouble while it was lurking around behind them.

They reached the festival site after half an hour walk from the jetty. There, Gou started to gush over the stalls and snapped pictures of the merchandise on sale.

While Gou was distracted, Ash took the chance to see an item he could use as a gift.

"How about this charm bracelet? It's made from authentic Zapdos, Articuno and Moltres feathers knitted together to form the string. And this jade, it has the colour of mew's eyes. It'll bring you luck". A charm seller explained to him as he browsed through the stall's displayed items.

"How much?"

"For you, I'll sell it for cheap. 1200P".

"That expensive huh. But you're right, the jade is the colour of a dream".

Ash slashed his credit card. Luckily he had a lot of savings for things like this. Well, considering he never had to impress anyone before, this would be the first for him.

"Oi, Ash! Look at what I've got!" Gou waved at him from far with his free hand. On the other, he was holding two trays for Takoyaki stacked on top of each other.

"This tastes amazing", Ash popped in the takoyaki piece into his mouth once they found a bench to sit on. The crowd was bigger than the last time he was here. Obviously this had been turned into a grand tourist attraction festival with the numbers flooding into the island.

"So… Why this place?" asked Gou.

"Soon you'll see. Don't be impatient", said Ash. He threw the trash into a smart rotom bin and returned to the bench.

Then, the performance started nearing dawn. Melody, the island's most famous flute player plays the Lugia song so beautifully.

The song was barely starting when a strong gust blew in their way. Gou could feel it, a shockwave ran through his skin, giving him goosebumps .

"You're ready?" Ash extended his hand to him.

"As ready as I'll ever be with you".

Lugia appeared from the water, leaving a trail of splashing water from the place it emerged. Gou and Ash both ran towards the cliff with cinderace and Pikachu. They just knew that the moment their feets left the ground, Lugia would catch them.

They landed with a small thud on Lugia's back.

"You're so warm, Lugia!" Gou giggled. Although he was no longer a ten years old boy, even when he grew into adulthood, the feeling of riding behind the legendary was refreshed again.

"This is awesome. Thanks for catching us, Lugia", Ash said, patting its back gently.

It must have been the setting sun. Gou wondered in awe. It must have been the setting sun that made Ash looked like a masterpiece sitting at the crook of Lugia's neck.

He couldn't help it. His feelings, it all came gushing forward in the form of tears.

Even Lugia was unsettled with Gou's sudden crying. An adult, entering the age of twenty-five was bawling his eyes out because of unknown reason. Ash was startled too but he reached out to pat Gou's back.

"Hey, what's the matter?" asked Ash. Of course he was also flirting with death with the way Cinderace was leering at him.

"YOU! What's wrong with you?!"

"Did - Did I do something wrong?"

"YOU DIDN'T! BUT HOW CAN YOU BE UNHAPPY WITH YOURSELF WHEN ALL THAT MATTERS TO ME IS YOU?!"

Everything just suddenly felt right to Ash. Gou was crying, sure but the only thing he could think of is this is the time and place for it. For taking a step forward to reach the unattainable.

"Give me your hand", Ash said, asking Gou to give him his hand.

"I'm crying and all you're asking for is my hand?" Gou rubbed his eyes but obediently let Ash took his hand.

Ash put on the lucky charm bracelet he got from the stall. "I thought this is the colour of your dream to catch Mew and so I want you to keep it".

Then he stood up, saying, "I also have a confession to make".

Taking a deep breath, he shouted, " I am in love with you, Gou! Will you be my boyfriend?"

Gou rubbed his tears away and smiled. "Of course you doofus! I've liked you for a very long time too. You just are too oblivious to see".

Lugia flew closer to the water surface.

The fated meeting had finally blossomed. It was worth the wait.

\------

"So…" Ash's mum looked at her son's partner through the screen. "Are you two together now?"

"Well, he said yes when I asked", Ash said, pulling Gou's closer, "all sobbing like sobble".

"Hey, it wasn't that bad!" Gou's grew flustered.

"Did he make you cry, Gou? Ash, mummy will not tolerate anymore bullying!" Mrs Ketchum scolded her son sternly.

"And oh, please do come over, Gou. I'd like to have you around. Then we can spend some mother in law and son in law time. Just the two of us having tea in the lawn".

"Mother in law???" Gou gasped.

"Oh, I must have gotten ahead of myself. Anyway, it'll be nice to have you around! Come and visit. Our door is always open for you".

When they ended the call, Ash walked away all gooey towards the room.

"I'd like to have you in my bed as my pillow tonight. Haven't slept well for so long. Are you up for it?" the pokemon master said out loud as he walked down the corridor to their bedroom.

"Ehhh???? AREN'T YOU MOVING TOO FAST?"

-The end-


End file.
